Ranking the opposing offensive lines on New York Jets’ 2020 schedule

Which teams will give the New York Jets front seven the most trouble? The quality of the opposing offensive lines on a given team's schedule is an extremely important factor in determining the difficulty of that team's path to the playoffs. A schedule littered with porous front-fives can make for smooth sailing. Conversely, one that is loaded with immovable units can lay the groundwork for a difficult season. What does the Jets' 2020 schedule look like when it comes to offensive line quality? 13. Los Angeles Rams 2019 ranking: 27th Projected starters: LT Andrew Whitworth, LG Austin Corbett, C Brian Allen, RG Austin Blythe, RT Rob Havenstein The Rams did a simply horrendous job of handling this unit in the 2020 offseason. After watching their once-elite unit sputter through a poor season in both pass protection and the run game, they did nothing to fix it. Absolutely nothing. Los Angeles did not make a single outside addition in free agency or via trade, and in the draft, their only pick allocated to the offensive line was a seventh-rounder (Tremayne Anchrum). Andrew Whitworth is the only intimidating force on the unit. Likely on his way to the Hall of Fame, the 38-year old was still PFF's 15th-ranked left tackle in 2019, but that was his worst-graded season since 2008. He also committed a career-high 14 penalties. Headed into his 15th season, more regression is likely on the way for Whitworth. If he does take a step back, the Rams may not have a single above-average starter on the unit. 12. Miami Dolphins Italicized players were added in the 2020 offseason. 2019 ranking: 32nd Projected starters: LT Julie'n Davenport, LG Ereck Flowers (FA - WAS), C Ted Karras (FA - NE), RG Michael Deiter, RT Jesse Davis Potential starters: T Austin Jackson (first-round pick), G Robert Hunt (second-round pick) As badly as the Jets offensive line played in 2019, it was substantially better than Miami's. That is how remarkably awful the Dolphins' front-five was. Miami ranked last in almost every imaginable category related to offensive line play, and usually by a wide margin. Miami invested plenty of assets into the pressing weakness. The unit should no longer be a complete disaster in 2020, but it will take some time until the group can fully come into its own, so another bottom-half finish is likely. Ereck Flowers and Ted Karras will provide moderate short-term boosts, while each possessing the potential to continue improving considering their lack of experience. In 2019, Flowers was PFF's 18th-ranked left guard after never playing any snaps at guard prior to the year. He finished the season as the sixth-ranked left guard from Weeks 11-17. Karras was PFF's 20th-ranked center in his first season as a full-time starter, and placed sixth at the position from Weeks 12-17. First-round pick Austin Jackson (USC) and second-round pick Robert Hunt (Louisiana) lay the long-term foundation. 11. Seattle Seahawks 2019 ranking: 25th Projected starters: LT Duane Brown, LG Mike Iupati, C B.J. Finney (FA - PIT), RG Phil Haynes, RT Cedric Ogbuehi (FA - JAX) Potential starters: T Brandon Shell (FA - NYJ), G Damien Lewis (third-round pick), C Joey Hunt Nobody mitigates pressure like Russell Wilson, but the Seahawks could be asking their franchise quarterback to carry the entire offense yet again. Right tackle is a battle between two career liabilities in Ogbuehi and Shell. Neither Finney nor Hunt has experience as a full-time starting center. Brown will soon be 35 years old and is entering his 13th season while Iupati is 33 and entering his 11th season. The Seahawks do not have a player with starting experience at right guard. Seattle's offensive line is a hodgepodge of players who are either way past their prime or have yet to show an extended stretch of strong play - and are lacking experience with one another. The world of 2020 in which practice time is limited will not be kind to teams that do not have chemistry. That is especially true at offensive line, a position built around communication. Expect this unit to struggle massively. Quinnen Williams and company need to take full advantage of it if the Jets are going to claim their first win in Seattle since 1997. 10. Los Angeles Chargers 2019 ranking: 29th Projected starters: LT Sam Tevi, LG Dan Feeney, C Mike Pouncey, RG Trai Turner (Trade - CAR), RT Bryan Bulaga (FA - GB) Average-or-better starters lost: LT Russell Okung (Trade - CAR) Potential starters: T Trey Pipkins, T Trent Scott Los Angeles added a pair of proven studs to bolster a unit that was tagged with allowing the second-highest pressure rate of any offensive line in 2019 (32.9%). The Okung-for-Turner swap was a coup. Okung will be 33 in October, is entering his 11th season, and just played a career-low six games while posting a career-low 62.4 overall grade at PFF. The Chargers were able to flip him for Turner, who is just 27 years old and a five-time Pro Bowler. To Turner's right will be Bryan Bulaga, who was PFF's seventh-ranked right tackle in 2019. Left tackle is a question mark. Tevi, who started mostly at right tackle from 2018-19, is the current favorite to start there with only three career starts at the position. However, he played well in those starts as he allowed just five pressures in total. 9. Denver Broncos 2019 ranking: 14th Projected starters: LT Garett Bolles, LG Dalton Risner, C Lloyd Cushenberry (third-round pick), RG Graham Glasgow (FA - DET), RT Ja'Wuan James Average-or-better starters lost: Connor McGovern (FA - NYJ) The loss of McGovern will sting in the short-term, but the Broncos added some serious long-term upside with the selection of Cushenberry out of LSU. Former Lions guard Graham Glasgow - a highly-coveted target among Jets fans - provides an upgrade. James' health will be crucial after knee injuries held him to only three starts in 2019. With the Dolphins from 2014-18, Miami had a 32-30 record with James on the field and a 10-24 record when he was out. The Broncos have a decent front. The fact that they are down here in the No. 9 spot just goes to show how many strong offensive lines the Jets are set to take on this year. 8. Arizona Cardinals 2019 ranking: 11th Projected starters: LT D.J. Humphries, LG Justin Pugh, C Mason Cole, RG J.R. Sweezy, RT Marcus Gilbert Potential starters: T Josh Jones (third-round pick) Average-or-better starters lost: C A.Q. Shipley (currently unsigned) Arizona's offensive line was surprisingly solid, especially in pass protection (third-lowest pressure rate allowed at 20.4%). Humphries, Pugh, and Sweezy are all set to return, giving the Cardinals that all-important continuity that is only even more crucial here in 2020. The return of a healthy Marcus Gilbert at right tackle will make the unit even better. If the 34-year old Shipley does not return, the Cardinals will need Cole, a 2018 third-round pick out of Michigan, to step up in his place at center. 7. Buffalo Bills 2019 ranking: 15th Projected starters: LT Dion Dawkins, LG Quinton Spain, C Mitch Morse, RG Jon Feliciano, RT Cody Ford Buffalo has what all teams strive to build - a returning five-man unit. That is always something to be feared in the game of football, but in a season where teams are getting less time than ever before to gel in the spring and summer, it could be even more deadly of an edge. This group was extremely average across the board in 2019, but with Ford facing a potential second-year leap and the interior trio going into its second season together (after all coming in as free agents in 2019), the unit's chemistry has a good chance to foster a leap in performance. 6. Cleveland Browns 2019 ranking: 18th Projected starters: LT Jedrick Wills (first-round pick), LG Joel Bitonio, C J.C. Tretter, RG Wyatt Teller, RT Jack Conklin (FA - TEN) The talent is there for this line to be elite. Bitonio and Tretter have established themselves as studs. Whether Conklin is a great tackle or merely a good one is up for debate, but he certainly provides an enormous upgrade over Chris Hubbard and Justin McCray. Wills has unlimited potential. 5. Kansas City Chiefs 2019 ranking: 12th Projected starters: LT Eric Fisher, LG Andrew Wylie, C Austin Reiter, RG Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, RT Mitchell Schwartz Potential starters: T/G Lucas Niang (third-round pick) Average-or-better starters lost: LG Stefen Wisniewski (FA - PIT) Schwartz is a star at right tackle, while Fisher holds things down reasonably well on Patrick Mahomes' blindside. Wylie, Reiter, and Duvernay-Tardif are not the most imposing run-blockers, but they are one of the best pass-protecting trios in the league. Wisniewski, now off to Pittsburgh, filled in strongly for Wylie over Kansas City's playoff run, so the depth took a slight hit with that loss. Like Buffalo, Kansas City is returning all five of its starters, a huge advantage. 4. San Francisco 49ers 2019 ranking: 8th Projected starters: LT Trent Williams (Trade - WAS), LG Laken Tomlinson, C Weston Richburg, RG Tom Compton (FA - NYJ), RT Mike McGlinchey Average-or-better starters lost: RG Mike Person (currently unsigned) To replace franchise great Joe Staley at left tackle, the 49ers went out and got perhaps the league's most talented player at the position in Williams. Tomlinson, McGlinchey, and Richburg return after helping lead the 49ers to second in the NFL with an average of 3.2 yards before contact on the ground. Compton at right guard is a gargantuan question mark. With the Jets this past season, he was the least efficient pass-blocking guard out of 76 qualifiers. San Francisco's 2019 starter at the position, 32-year old Mike Person, remains unsigned. 3. New England Patriots 2019 ranking: 10th Projected starters: LT Isaiah Wynn, LG Joe Thuney, C David Andrews, RG Shaq Mason, RT Marcus Cannon Andrews, one of the league's best centers from 2015-18, should return healthy after missing 2019 with a pulmonary embolism. He will be a sizable upgrade over Ted Karras. 2020 would mark the fourth season that Thuney, Andrews, Mason, and Cannon have played together. Wynn missed his entire rookie season in 2018 and then eight more games in 2019, but he finished his second season strongly and looks like another high-level starter for New England. There are some injury question marks here with Wynn and Andrews, but the Patriots have long-lasting chemistry and a talented starter at every position. This can be a top-five group if healthy. 2. Indianapolis Colts 2019 ranking: 9th Projected starters: LT Anthony Castonzo, LG Quenton Nelson, C Ryan Kelly, RG Mark Glowinski, RT Braden Smith Indianapolis is set to return the same five-man unit for a third consecutive season. Glowinski has generally been below-average, but the Colts have arguably the league's best guard in Nelson and a tremendous bookend duo with Castonzo and Smith. Kelly is a solid center. The Colts offensive line earned PFF's second-best run-blocking grade in 2019 (77.0). 1. Las Vegas Raiders 2019 ranking: 6th Projected starters: LT Kolton Miller, LG Richie Incognito, C Rodney Hudson, RG Gabe Jackson, RT Trent Brown A physical and nasty unit that gets the job done with a combination of veterans and younger players. Incognito, soon to be 37 years old, is still dominating, while Hudson, who recently turned 31, remains the best pass-protecting lineman in the game by a wide margin. Brown, Jackson, and Miller are all solid, completing one of the most well-rounded units in the league. Altogether, the Jets' 13 opponents earned an average ranking of 16.6 on my 2019 offensive line breakdown - making it a slate of just about perfectly average difficulty. Eight of the 13 opponents had a top-half line, but only two ranked in the top-eight while four ranked in the bottom-eight. The Jets should face more good offensive lines than bad ones in 2020, but the bad ones may be closer to the bottom than the good ones are to the top. Taking care of business against the porous lines - especially the back-to-back against Miami (Weeks 10-12) and the Seahawks/Rams road trip (Weeks 14-15) - will be crucial for the Jets with so many sturdy offensive fronts awaiting them on the schedule.